Never Forget

People are always surprised to find out that I spent a short time in my life working as a police officer. A real life beat cop on the street. It was a very interesting time in my life filled with crazy stories that I will never forget. But I fondly remember one day in particular...

I was still in training at the time, and as a part of training, I rotated through all the shifts to be exposed to as much as possible. This day I was working the day shift, starting bright and early at 6am. I remember walking into briefing and seeing the TVs on with scenes of a smoking building. The early word was that some crazy person flew into the World Trade center. I remember seeing on TV images of the building with smoke pouring out on one side. It was surreal, but we had no idea the severity of it at the time. The sergeant who ran the briefing agreed to leave the TVs on in mute while we conducted our business. I didn't know what to think. I was out of the academy for about 2 months. Was this sort of thing what I was to be dealing with now? We all paid attention the best we could, and as we wrapped up briefing and starting to walk out, the first building started to come down. We all watched for a minute in silence. I don't think we really were able to processed what was happening, so we went out on duty like we were suppose to quietly.

Since I was in training, so I rode with a training officer. I remember we didn't really know what to do with ourselves. Word had started to come out that this was some terrorist act and there was another plane that had crashed by the Pentagon. We didn't really know if we would be seeing any activity near us. I didn't exactly work in a small city. It was somewhat conceivable, at least at the time, that San Jose would be as likely of a target as anywhere else. Having that kind of violence brought to our soil, made it seem like it could've happened anywhere. We were the only ones to think that, of course, and we started to get called about "suspicious" activities everywhere. People were freaked out, and honestly, so was I.

I think what calmed me down the most was what helped a lot of people that day. I called Britt at home after a couple hours of craziness to see if she was ok. Britt asked me why I was so worked up. She was at home watching PBS cartoons with an almost two year old Hannah. She had no idea what was going on and I appreciated the calm that was at home. I told her to change the channel to see what was going on, but she probably had no idea how much she brought me back to focus that morning. A morning of confusion and panic, and I had a calm, peaceful home, still waiting for me.

Not a lot really happened for the rest of the day. We tried to stay ready and available in case anything did happen. Safe to say the car thieves and drug dealers got a break from us that day. For as long as we remember and commemorate this day, I will always be grateful that I had a unique perspective on it all. A lot of brave and courageous people work everyday to keep the rest of us safe. People who have their lives and families who constantly remind them why they do what they do. I am honored that I was a part of that for a while, and I can honest say that I will never forget the events of 9/11/2001.

I Have An Eating Problem

This is certainly not a food review. Probably more about how crazy I am about food.

If we ever decide to go out and share a meal together, don't ever take me to a food court. I love to eat all sorts of different foods, so if you present a bunch of choices to me at once, my brain will lock up and I won't be able to make a decision for hours. Whether a simple mall food court or a ethnic smorgasbord like the Emeryville Public market, I can walk circles for hours bouncing between a cheesesteak to a hot bowl of udon to Korean BBQ to Indian goat curry until everyone else have eaten, digested, and finished the complimentary mint. If it was up to me, I would get the sampler plate, with a bite from every place. Wouldn't that be the best ever? Maybe a bite size cheese-on-a-stick followed by a mini Stromboli washed down with sip of Thai iced tea with maybe a baklava for dessert? I'm not good with food and choices. Which is a long way of introducing my dilemma today...

I am currently serving as stay at home parent while the wife is in Minnesota enjoying her own food adventures (and maybe attending a graduation somewhere). With a toddler involved, it pretty much involves a morning of television with the likes of Mickey Mouse, a blue dog appropriately named Blue, and some sort of oddly shaped figures who likes to dance. Combined that with older kids with a very active softball schedule, I have been pretty much a car service with a bonus title of short order cook. So on my last full day as daytime nanny (and not even those hot ones that Jude Law might run off with), I decided that I needed to do something that I wanted to do for a change. And what I want to do it eat something good.

My first thought, of course, was the myriad of food trucks that I follow on Twitter (shameless plug) who are almost never where I am. The closest area where the good food trucks go seems to be Emeryville. (and by good, I mean just the current crop of gourmet food trucks. Not your run of the mill taco trucks, which I also love, and is pretty sure densely populates my neighborhood. But that is another day's eating/blog post) It seems that some cities are just more food truck friendly. If you drive down Hollis St in Emeryville at lunch time, for example, you can usually find 3 or 4 trucks parked and ready to stuff your face. But which place do I go? Who knows when I would be able to get this chance again? (Please, food truck community, someone come on out to Pleasant Hill/Walnut Creek where I work) There was only one thing to do: I made a couple of stops.



So I ended up with a lunch that looks like this. Seared ahi tuna roll from Jon's Street Eats. Short rib taco and BBQ pork slider from Mogo BBQ. Is that a lot of food for lunch? Yes. I couldn't eat it all, but the different tastes was so satisfying. It was definitely worth a short wait with a sleeping 2 year old to carry around. (More food for me!)

I started this by saying that you should never take me to a place with too many choices. Let me amend that. If you are anything like me and like to try a lot of different things, please come along on one of my eating adventures. I can't possibly eat a whole serving of everything (I try sometimes though. Ugh. I need a just inspiring post about a workout routine). Let's all get something different and share it with each other. Apparently I am a social eater. Maybe it's a cultural thing. Chinese people often eat their meals family style, sharing several dishes. I'd love to discuss it over some pad thai and fried chicken though. Won't you join me?

Let's bid on a brush with fame

There is currently a celebrity auction going on right now called Twitchange where you can bid to have your favorite celebratory follow you on Twitter. All the money raised goes to relief efforts in Haiti. It's kind of a neat idea for people to use their celebrity for a good cause since it really requires nothing of them other than adding a name on their follow list, while peons like us can brag for the rest of their lives that they once  had a connection online with Tony Hawk or Jessica Alba. I don't have the kind of money to participate in such things, however noble the endeavor (Dana White of all people currently leads the bidding at a whopping $15,000(!)), but it's fun to look at. If you have a few extra bucks, by all means, you should go support the cause.

-A couple of observations: As exciting as it is to see the top bids, the bottom feeders are packed with some good stuff. Who knew Mint Condition was still around? let alone having a Twitter account to follow.

- This is apparently the brainchild of Eva Longoria? Who knew she would be the brains of... well, anything. Good for you, lady!

- And if anyone would like to pay me money to follow them, I would be happy to donate said money to the cause as well. Bidding starts at two pence.

The hardest job in the world

I was home early after a trip to the dentist today (a filling! The shame!). I decided to be the good husband and let Britt get a rare afternoon nap while I watched the kids and made dinner. It was only for a few hours and I was reminded of the how hard my wife's job is. A co-worker recently proclaimed that if she was a stay-at-home mom than she would get so much done around the house. I was offended for my wife at such an ignorant comment but I was still surprised at the craziness that she has to juggle on a daily basis.
I think part of the challenge for us is that our kids are so far apart in age. They just all have different needs to balance. On this day after school, there's Hannah working on a ton of long division and multiplication with decimals.

Honestly, I felt bad for her. Those are tedious long problems, and she had 60 problems on that worksheet. It's brutal for the 5th day of school. Might be a long year for her.
Then there's Sara, entering the 2nd grade, but sometimes I think she's ready for junior high herself. No homework yet for her so she's reading.

Obviously Hannah isn't  a fan of watching her younger sister having a good time with no homework. They are mostly good with each other but tempers are often short.
And then there's the baby. Who is warming up nicely for her terrible 2's. She is a terror around the house, and a loud one. I tried to get a picture of her messing the house up, and when she saw me coming she decided to give a pose instead...

Oh that Audrey, she is going to be a handful...
So yeah, a lot going on at home on any given afternoon. I'll be happily going back to work tomorrow. Thanks Britt for keeping the fort safe at home...

Summer of Wedding

There comes a time in everyone's life where all your friends decide that they are ready for marriage. It's just that age where everyone is about ready, and suddenly your Saturdays are booked up for the next 3 months. This was our summer for weddings. We actually haven't been to that many before this summer, maybe an average of once a year. This summer, however, we made it to 5 weddings in a span of about 10 weeks. We love weddings, I mean, how can you not? Being asked to join in celebration of perhaps someone's happiest day is both an honor and a privilege... and the free food! Don't even get me started about the food...

We were fortunate enough to attend weddings that were all a little different. We went from sunny southern California to the foothills of the Sierras, there were outdoor weddings and indoor ceremonies, there were weddings in English as well as Spanish... wait, what?? Yeah, that's how we roll. Let's take a quick look back at them all, shall we?



First was a trip down south to the wedding of our friends Cindy and Jason. A lovely church wedding, for two really great people. We ended up making a little vacation out of it and caught an Angels game as well as visit Britt's aunt and cousins.



I especially liked how the couple highlighted the solid friendship, their failure in relationship the first time around, and the reconciliation that brought them closer than ever to each other. Congrats, Cindy and Jason!



Next was our friend Corrine and Jason's wedding (different Jason. really) Wedding was at a nice country club in Gilroy. Something about the well kept greens of a golf course that really makes a nice setting to a wedding. This was a really fun wedding, with two of the funnest people we know. Just look at the fun prom cutout that was provided for guest above...



This was also the wedding with the "pants incident" which I really don't want to talk about. It's also where the staff spilled cocktail sauce on Britt's dress. Let's just call this a general wardrobe malfunction wedding for us....



Hey family wedding! My sister and I had a great time telling people that we were going to the wedding of our cousin Jose Chang. Yes he is my cousin! You don't see the resemblance? Not some weird third cousin twice remove either. His dad and my mom are siblings!



Anyway, this wedding was in a catholic church and was mostly in Spanish. It was very cool to see the wedding of a different culture. Plus my whole family was there so it was fun to hang out with everyone. This wedding also gets another half point because two weeks later we had the Chinese wedding banquet. That makes 5.5 weddings!



Then we were in Marin for the wedding of our dear friends Lis and James. The wedding was outside of a church with the most amazing view of the Bay. How amazing? Well see for yourself...



Again, a beautiful wedding. We are friends with Lis and her parents and MK in so many ways that this almost felt like the wedding of a family member. The reception dinner was a total blast, with the kids tearing up the dance floor. Thanks so much for letting us be a part of your beautiful day!



Finally, last weekend we were in the Sierra foothills at a cute winery where we attended the wedding of Britt's friend Christine and Matt. They live in Seattle now and we haven't seen them in a long time. What a wonderful reason to see them again! It was a beautiful, if somewhat warm day. A beautiful wedding centered on God, family, and friends.



And one of the greatest spread at the reception. A brunch menu! Honestly, if I were to have my wedding again, I would serve breakfast. We love it that much! It was fun, and we hope we will get to see them again soon!

Well that's our summer of weddings. They were all special in their own ways and we loved all of them. If you are having weddings and need to fill some seats, give us a call. After this summer, I think we qualify for "professional" status and can help celebrate your most special occasions. Call today!

Street Eats

If you know me at all, you know that I love street food. The food of the everyman, doled out in paper bowls or on a stick, at affordable prices really bring people together. So last week we went out to Oakland for Art Murmur, a once a month art festival/street fair that includes many of the street foods that I've been stalking on Twitter and have been wanting to try. Hipster central? Yes! But I was just there for the food...

Many of the stands here are pretty simple. People made a bunch of food and set it on a table (I actually saw a lady walking around with brownies in a cardboard box and selling them for a buck a piece). That's actually the appeal, I think. Just good food for a reasonable price. The wandering musicians as entertainment helped as well...

Luckily, my whole family is with me on trying all sorts of food. Some more adventurous than others, I suppose. Audrey liked this Ube cassava cake thing:

The girls really enjoyed their grilled cheese sandwich. Boring, you say? Well it's award winning! Check out the trophies on the ground behind Hannah:

Me, I like a little of everything. Like jerk chicken stick from @eviljerkcart:

Or the best Mac and Cheese from @jonsstreeteats (ok, the girls ate most of this):

By the way, they had some awesome looking patty melts too. Might be my favorite street cart in the east bay right now. Check them out the next time you're in the Emeryville/Alameda/Oakland area (they rotate locations).

Good stuff. Oh, and Britt had a pretty generous bowl of gumbo from @gumbocart. Mmm I love gumbo.

Anyway, that's our love of street food. There is actually a San Francisco Street Food Festival in August that I am already circling on my calendar. If any of this looks good to you, then please join us, and we'll catch up on the curb, chomping over some delicious delicacies. I can't think of a better way to spend time with friends.

Scenes from the road

Driving down highway 5 to southern California is boring. But the rest
stops can be interesting. Where else can you get a steak from a gas
station market?

WonderCon 2010

In a weird twist of fate, Easter this year falls on the same weekend as WonderCon 2010... Well, maybe not so weird. Organizers probably looked at the target audience and thought, "these people probably don't know Easter from a Klingon bar mitzvah." In any case, those of us who did celebrate the resurrection of our savior can still squeeze in a little nerdness on a Sunday afternoon. Mostly it's these people here:



I just like the general festivities. We really went on Sunday because Britt really wanted to attend the Chuck panel where the cast talks about the show and does some Q & A. As a bonus, we were shown the next episode a whole day early. I never knew group watching something like that can be so much fun.



None of us are big comic book readers, but the kids like all the dressing up and such. There are some questionable content for kids, but they are pretty good about keeping those things away from wandering eyes. For more kid friendly participants, Star Wars is always popular...



But this was most impressive. Homemade Buzz Lightyear costume, with real working buttons.



I recommend any of you who haven't been to check it out next year. Definitely a spectacle...

Paper Typing

She didn't have to, but Hannah insisted on typing up her Martin Luther King Jr paper for school.

Too bad the paper was due last Friday.

You win some and lose some....

(Incidentally, I think I have failed as a parent who is reasonably hip to technology. My 10 year old types like an old person. That is unacceptable. I'm going to give a call to Mavis Beacon.)

NOT my 15 minutes of fame...

It was brought to my attention that on the Australian version of that hit show Beauty and the Geek, one of the aforementioned "geeks" is named Alan...Kwong. Now I don't claim to have an original name, (Go ahead, try putting my name into Facebook and see how many hits come up. I'll wait a few hours for you) but why can't I be sharing my name with someone cool? Like a star cricket player, or the inventor of silent Velcro? Why did it have to be a reality "star"?

If you want to see, there is a profile of it here.

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via twitterrific

Posted via web from Alan's posterous

Spider hunter

Another fun job I have - family spider killer. Fortunately, Sara doesn't seem too afraid and have saved her big sister a few times. I was alerted of this one outside our front window though...



Umm I think I'm going to leave this one alone.



I do have a small desire to take a blow torch to it though. Must be the sadistic 8 year old in me.

Time for homework...

One of the joys of being a parent is taking the time to help your kids with homework. So far, Hannah and Sara has been mostly good about school work as far as understanding what they are learning in class. Sara, having gone through two years of preschool, really seem to be ahead of most of the kids in her class. Less work does not mean no work though, so looking over her homework packet the other day, I was impressed with her being able to fill out the missing letters for words associating with a picture. Then I ran across this one...



You tell me which one doesn't look right, and then tell me what she was trying to spell, because I had no idea...

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via twitterrific

Posted via web from Alan's posterous

Tales from the road

We were getting gas in Salinas when we saw this place, which prompted Hannah to say,

"Hey Senor Taco. That means boy taco."

I laughed for a good five minutes after that.

Posted via web from Alan's posterous

We be Strollin'

The Solano Stroll was today and we had the added excuse that Hannah and Britt was participating in the parade in the morning to promote her softball league. But really, I was just in it for the food.

Most important thing for me at a street fair is above: "FUNNEL CAKE". The other stuff deep fried is good too.

Because there is no love like food-on-a-stick love. At least I think that's a corn dog she's posing with.

New food is a plus too. You read that right. Crab garlic fries. And it tastes every bit as delicious as it sounds. Yum!

Oh, and I found out that my head is just too big to pull off these sorts of hats. Ah well, Ne-Yo I will never be.

But fortunately it's not a genetic thing. Look at this cutie in her hat. If only her dad weren't so cheap...

That's too meat-riffic

I love bacon, but this might be even too bacon-y for me. Love the effort and craftiness though...

A full English fried breakfast served in a cocktail glass made out of bacon.

(via rathergood)

Nothing goes with a crappy Giants game like.. Marlin jerky?

Posted via email from Alan's posterous

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Posted via email from Alan's posterous